Chapter 8 - THE TRUTH THAT BROKE THE EMPIRE
The Ferguson empire collapsed faster than anyone expected.
Because once people stopped being afraid…
they stopped protecting them.
Patricia lost everything she valued most.
Not money.
Not status.
Control.
The friends who once answered her calls stopped responding.
The politicians who once attended her parties avoided her.
The people who once praised her suddenly claimed they never knew her.
I watched the news coverage one evening.
The same reporters who once called Patricia a respected businesswoman were now reporting on the investigation.
Abigail sat beside me.
“Does it feel good?”
I looked at her.
“What?”
“Seeing them fall.”
I thought about it.
Years ago, maybe it would have.
But not anymore.
“No.”
She looked surprised.
“Why?”
“Because revenge keeps you looking backward.”
I smiled.
“I want to look forward.”
That night, Abigail asked about my military career.
“You were always fighting, weren't you?”
I nodded.
“Yes.”
“For strangers?”
“Yes.”
She looked down.
“But when I needed you…”
The sentence hurt.
Because she wasn't accusing me.
She was telling me what she felt.
I took her hand.
“I can't change the time I lost.”
May you like
A pause.
“But I can choose what I do with the time I have left.”
